Abstract
Body size (weight) and brain size were measured in inbred and hybrid mice of three different ages (1, 3, and 5 months). Hybrid values were generally greater than those of either inbred parent for both characters at all three ages (overdominance). There was statistically significant positive heterosis for both brain and body size, its magnitude consistently averaging slightly over 1.0 standard deviation unit. The variance in inbred groups was significantly greater than in hybrid groups (positive homeostasis) for body size at 1 month and for brain size at 3 and 5 months. Both characters differed among inbred strains, crosses, reciprocals, litters, and litter sizes, although body size exhibited more sexual dimorphism than did brain size. Heritabilities for brain size were high (0.63–0.67) and consistent in all ages studied, whereas those for body size were moderate in magnitude (0.28–0.54) and increased with age.
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This research was supported in part by a grant from the University Research Committee, California State University, Long Beach.
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Leamy, L. Morphometric studies in inbred and hybrid house mice. VI. A genetical analysis of brain and body size. Behav Genet 15, 251–263 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065981
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065981